Tunisia

Holly Pickett for The New York Times

News about Tunisia, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 26, 2015

Tunisia's Parliament votes overwhelmingly in favor of antiterrorism law, fast-tracking its passage after terrorism attacks in March and June that killed total of 59 tourists; some have expressed concern that legislation may harm human rights efforts that have only begun taking root in country. MORE

Jul. 24, 2015

Tunisian government's crackdown on mosques after massacre of 38 tourists in Sousse is raising concern that stricter security measures signal secular government's return to authoritarian ways of former dictatorship. MORE

Jul. 14, 2015

Tunisian Interior Min Najem Gharsalli says security forces have killed three leaders of insurgent group Oqba Imn Nafa who were attempting to set up base in south of country. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

Great Britain’s government tells all British travelers to leave Tunisia because other terrorist attacks there are eminent; comes amid Tunisian investigation finding that militants have targeted Western tourists in attacks in Sousse and Tunis. MORE

Jul. 9, 2015

Tunisian Prime Min Habib Essid announces plans for construction of wall along Libyan border to protect country and its economy from growing presence of Islamic State and other militant groups in Libya; two attacks by Islamist extremists against foreign tourists have caused economic turmoil and anxiety throughout nation. MORE

Jul. 5, 2015

Tunisian Pres Beji Caid Essebsi declares state of emergency following terrorist attack at Imperial Marhaba Hotel in town of Sousse that killed over 30 tourists. MORE

Jul. 3, 2015

United States reports that Tunisia's most wanted jihadist, Seifallah Ben Hassine, was killed in American airstrike in Libya in June. MORE

Jul. 1, 2015

Tunisian officials reveal that Seifeddine Rezgui, gunman who killed 38 foreign tourists at beachside hotel, had trained with extremist group in Libya earlier in 2015; note that Chelli's training coincided with that of two gunmen who later killed 22 people in March at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis. MORE

Jun. 30, 2015

British Prime Min David Cameron vows 'full spectrum' response to terrorist attack that left 39 tourists, at least 18 of them British, dead at beach resort in Sousse, Tunisia; does not specify security measures to be taken at home or abroad but sends hundreds of police officers and forensic experts to help Tunisian authorities. MORE

Jun. 29, 2015

Relatives, neighbors and friends of Seifeddine Rezgui, Tunisian student suspected of shooting 39 tourists at Imperial Marhaba hotel in Sousse, Tunisia, recall signs Rezgui was becoming more radicalized; attribute his change to people he met while attending college in Kairouan, town known as base for outlawed extremist Salafist movement called Ansar al-Shariah. MORE

Jun. 28, 2015

Tourists on beach in Sousse, Tunisia, recall silent, nearly businesslike behavior of gunman Seifeddine Rezgui as he carried out Tunisia's worst terrorist attack in living memory; Rezqui killed 39 people and wounded 38 others as he pursued sunbathers into the Imperial Marhaba Hotel before being shot and killed by police; witnesses say Rezgui's few words made it clear his targets were tourists. MORE

Jun. 27, 2015

Three terror attacks, perpetrated on three continents within three hours, seem to be linked only by purpose of causing substantial numbers of civilian deaths and timing of attacks, which some say indicate level of coordination; Islamic State is claiming responsibility for attacks on tourist beach in Tunisia and at mosque in Kuwait, while assailant behind assault on American-owned chemical plant in France remains unclear. MORE

Jun. 27, 2015

Gunman disguised as vacationer kills at least 38 people at Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse, Tunisia, before being shot dead by police officers; most of dead were British tourists; terrorist attack is one of worst in Tunisian history, and Islamic State claims responsibility. MORE

Jun. 25, 2015

World Bank economists release research paper offering new evidence of widespread corruption in Tunisia during dictatorship of former Pres Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali; finds companies owned by family of Ben Ali defrauded state of $1 billion to $2.6 billion over seven years, scale of corruption that was a primary factor in 2011 uprising. MORE

Jun. 19, 2015

Gunman release 10 Tunisian consular officials in Libyan capital Tripoli after days of negotiations; group Libya Dawn reportedly carried out kidnapping in retaliation for detention of its leader Walid Qulaib. MORE

Jun. 17, 2015

Tunisian passenger train smashes into semi-trailer truck crossing tracks near Fahs; truck driver survives but two cars on train derail, killing 18 people and injuring at least 86. MORE

Jun. 13, 2015

Tunisian Foreign Ministry reports that armed group stormed Tunisian consulate in Tripoli, Libya, and is holding hostage 12 consular employees, second time in several weeks Tunisians have been held hostage by militiamen in country; attack is attributed to group Libya Dawn and is said to be protest of Tunisian detention of group's leader Walid Qulaib. MORE

May. 29, 2015

Tunisia is gathering testimony from victims of sixty years of police abuses under two dictatorships, including number of women relating tales of extreme cruelty, sexual violence and rape; so far 12,000 victims have come forward to country's Truth and Dignity Commission, most of them men; commission workers say accounts by woman are far more traumatic because of women's place of honor in conservative society. MORE

May. 26, 2015

Tunisian Defense Ministry says soldier who killed seven and injured 10 of his comrades in shooting rampage was disturbed and had 'family issues.' MORE

May. 22, 2015

Character witnesses in Italy come forward to vouch for whereabouts of Tunisian man Abdelmajid Touil, who was arrested by Italian authorities in connection with March terrorist attack on National Bardo Museum in Tunis. MORE

May. 22, 2015

Pres Obama designates major non-NATO ally status to Tunisia, based on its progression towards democracy after 2011 Arab Spring revolutionary wave; new status allows financing for commercial leasing of defense weaponry and other strategic advantages desired by Arab states fearing Iranian influence. MORE

May. 21, 2015

Italian police announce arrest of Moroccan man Abdelmajid Touil, suspected of involvement in attack on a museum in Tunisia in March that killed 22 people; charges against Touil could include terrorism and murder. MORE

May. 20, 2015

Thousands of Tunisians file claims with country's newly formed Truth and Dignity Commission over torture and abuse committed during nearly 60 years of authoritarian rule; public hearings are scheduled to start in June. MORE

May. 19, 2015

Newly-elected Tunisian Pres Beji Caid Essebsi faces daunting task of overhauling country's economy while maintaining democratic gains brought by Arab Spring uprising; as prominent government figure since independence in 1956, he represents stability after chaotic rule of Ennahda party; will meet with Pres Obama and attend Group of 7 meeting with hopes of assistance in transitioning from state-controlled economy and attracting foreign investment. MORE

Apr. 3, 2015

Family members and neighbors of Jabeur Khachnaoui and Yassine Abidi, gunmen responsible for terrorist attack on National Bardo Museum in Tunis that killed more than 20 people, are both shocked and shamed by assault. MORE

Apr. 1, 2015

Militant group Jund al-Khilafah, which says it belongs to Islamic State, claims responsibility for massacre at National Bardo Museum in Tunisia and threatens further attacks in country. MORE

Mar. 23, 2015

Tunisian authorities identify two gunmen killed by security forces during shooting rampage at National Bardo Museum as Yassine Abidi and Hatem Khachnaoui; police are still searching for third suspect who was seen in surveillance footage. MORE

Mar. 22, 2015

Tunisian authorities arrest more than 20 suspected militants in connection with attack at National Bardo Museum in Tunis that left 23 people dead. MORE

Mar. 21, 2015

Tunisian authorities spend day evacuating dead and wounded foreign tourists and burying Tunisian dead in aftermath of terrorist attack on National Bardo Museum in Tunis, which killed 23 people; Pres Beji Caid Essebsi says in Independence Day speech that Islamic State group claimed responsibility and that security forces believe claim to be true. MORE

Mar. 20, 2015

Muslim extremist groups, including Islamic State, seek to claim responsibility for attack on Tunisian museum that killed at least 21 people; four of nine suspects with direct connections to attack, critical blow to tourism industry there, have been arrested. MORE

Mar. 20, 2015

Editorial asserts terrorist attack at Tunisia's National Bardo Museum, where 20 people from five countries were killed, threatens success of only country to clearly benefit from Arab Spring uprising; urges Tunisia's government not to crush nascent democracy, civil rights or religious liberties as it seeks to deal with terrorist threat; calls for support of international community in helping Tunisia to foster progress that keeps terrorism at bay. MORE

Mar. 19, 2015

Attack on Tunisian museum that left 19 people dead strikes a blow to critical tourism industry in only nation to embrace democracy after Arab Spring revolts; Prime Min Habib Essid reports two of the gunmen, who wore military uniforms, have been killed but more accomplices may still be at large. MORE

Feb. 3, 2015

Tunisian Prime Min Habib Essid presents proposed cabinet for second time in two weeks, after first cabinet failed no-confidence vote. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

Habib Essid is nominated by Tunisia's leading political party Nidaa Tounes to be prime minister and is charged by party with establishing new government; Essid is American-trained economist who served under Pres Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, as well as under interim Islamist-led government following Ali's ouster in 2011. MORE

Dec. 26, 2014

Editorial welcomes election of Beji Caid Essebsi, first freely chosen president of Tunisia; calls country's commitment to elections and other democratic processes inspirational model for other nations in region; cautions that building up democratic values and institutions in Tunisia will likely take years. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

Beji Caid Essebsi, former cabinet minister of Tunisia, wins country's first free and democratic presidential election in a runoff, with 55.7 percent of vote, defeating interim Pres Moncef Marzouki, who received 44.3 percent. MORE

Dec. 22, 2014

Exit polls in Tunisia indicate victory for Beji Caid Essebsi in country's presidential election, though opponent and interim Pres Moncef Marzouki has not yet conceded defeat; Essebsi is a veteran statesman who served in governments of both of country's former dictators. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

Tunisians will vote in presidential runoff between interim Pres Moncef Marzouki and Beji Caid Essebsi; election is being cast as symbol of whether Arab Spring uprising has enough teeth to persist, as critics of Essebsi warn his leadership would mean a return to one party dominance. MORE

Dec. 19, 2014

Tunisian fighters with Islamic State are claiming responsibility in video for the assassinations of left-wing politicians Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi in 2013; are threatening more assassinations before Tunisia's presidential runoff. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

Tunisia's first democratic presidential election will be decided in runoff; frontrunners Pres Moncef Marzouki and Beji Caid Essebsi both failed to secure majority in election. MORE

Nov. 24, 2014

Tunisians vote in their first free and democratic presidential election; runoff election is expected between former Prime Min Beji Caid Essebsi and interim Pres Moncef Marzouki. MORE

Nov. 22, 2014

Tunisians are set to vote in their first-ever open democratic presidential election, completing rocky transition that began with nation's revolution in 2010; new Parliament was elected in October. MORE

Nov. 21, 2014

Tunisians worry about growing number of female extremists after security forces kill five women in Tunis raid; some point to years of oppression before Arab Spring as reason why many young men and women embrace Islamist extremism, while many families and friends of the women struggle to understand how they changed so dramatically in such short time. MORE

Oct. 31, 2014

Editorial commends Tunisia for its peaceful parliamentary elections, which were broadly accepted by all parties; holds nation's transition is in stark contrast to upheavals elsewhere since the Arab Spring; maintains while country has made impressive progress, it still needs support from the West to continue to succeed. MORE

Oct. 30, 2014

Tunisia’s election board confirms that secular party Nidaa Tounes won decisive victory in the country’s parliamentary elections, securing 85 seats and knocking Islamist party Ennahda into second place, with 69 seats; results deal blow to Islamists, who rose to power in the 2011 elections after revolution that overthrew government of Pres Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. MORE

Oct. 28, 2014

Secular Nidaa Tounes party wins largest number of seats in Tunisia's parliamentary elections, defeating main rival, Islamist party Ennahda. MORE

Oct. 27, 2014

Nearly 60 percent of Tunisians turn out to elect new Parliament for five-year term; elections are second in country since popular uprising of 2011 that set off the Arab Spring. MORE

Oct. 26, 2014

Mbarka Brahmi is campaigning in Tunisia's parliamentary election for the seat of her husband Mohamed Brahmi, left-wing politician whose assassination by Islamist extremists in 2013 sent Tunisia into a political crisis. MORE

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Tunisia’s Parliament voted overwhelmingly late Friday to pass an antiterrorism law after a pair of devastating attacks against tourists, but critics fear that the new legislation may endanger the country’s hard-won freedoms.